Steelers help Pats close in on No. 2 seed

By virtue of the Steelers' 23-20 last-second win in Baltimore on Sunday afternoon, the Patriots find themselves tied with the Ravens and Broncos for the No. 2 seed in the AFC, a spot that would earn them a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the second round of the AFC playoffs.

Technically, the Patriots have the advantage in a three-way tie right now and are the No. 2 seed according to NFL.com since the Patriots are 8-1 in the AFC while Baltimore is 8-2 and the Broncos are 6-2.

Houston is the No. 1 seed in the AFC with an 11-1 record, having beaten Tennessee on Sunday. The Patriots play the Texans next Monday night at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots lost to the Ravens and beat the Broncos. The Ravens have a huge game with the Broncos in Baltimore on Dec. 16 that could determine who winds up with the No. 2 seed.

The Patriots won their fourth straight AFC East title with a 23-16 road win on Sunday over the Dolphins and improved to 9-3. The Ravens fell to 9-3, and the Broncos won their seventh straight to improve to 9-3, holding off Tampa Bay in Denver. If the Broncos win that game on Dec. 16 and the three teams finished tied, then conference record will be key. If the Ravens and Patriots win out, and Houston finishes as the No. 1 seed, the Ravens will take the No. 2 seed as a result of their wins over the Patriots and Broncos.

There also is a fierce race for the two wild cards, as the Colts stand at No. 5 in the conference with an 8-4 record. The Steelers are 7-5, tied with the Bengals. But the Steelers hold the No. 6 spot by virtue of their win Oct. 21 in Cincinnati.

Here is the seeding after Sunday's action: 1. Houston, 2. New England, 3. Baltimore, 4. Denver, 5. Indianapolis, 6. Pittsburgh, 7. Cincinnati. The top six teams make the AFC playoffs.

Greg and Chris talk with Mike Reiss from ESPN Boston in hour 2 of NFL Sunday to discuss a variety of offseason happenings with the Pats and throughout the league. Greg and Chris also get into the NFL Draft and where Mariota and Winston will go.

Mike Reiss calls the guys to talk about the offseason news for the Pats. He talks about the Pats/Jets tampoering fiasco, free agency, where he sees Ridley and Connolly ending up, if the Patriots would be interested in Reggie Wayne and more.

In the first hour of the show, Greg and Chris discuss the news coming out of the owners' meetings this week and rule changes. Belichick's blow-up over the league not wanting to spend on endzone cameras was well documented and the guys react. They also talk about the Jets ridiculous tampering charges, free agents still lingering out there, where Stevan Ridley will land and the RB position in New England. Dickerson and Price briefly discuss the adventures of Tom Brady before being joined by WEEI.com's Mike Petraglia to talk all things Pats in the offseason.

Flannery joins Mut to break down the Isaiah Thomas trade to Boston and what it means for the Celtics this season and in the future. Paul also chats with Mut about the other deals that happened at the NBA's trading deadline

Mut, Tomase, and Bradford kick things off talking about Shane Victorino taking offense to people reading into some comments he made about trading for Cole Hamels. They also discuss Blake Swihart and how soon he could be up if Christian Vazquez starts the season on the DL.

Joe Kelly joined the Hot Stove show where he talked about being ready for his next spring training start after a biceps ailment forced him out of his last outing, he talks about his NCAA brackets and how teammate Wade Miley has a perfect bracket still.

Peter Chiarelli joined the Sunday Skate crew to talk about the Bruins playoff push heading into the final handful of games of the regular season. Chiarelli talked about avoiding some of the overly negative feedback he gets while realizing that the team does have real issues. He discusses what went down at the trade deadline and if he was happy with the outcome, Lucic having a down year and underperforming, the salary cap and if he considers it as big of an issue as it's been made out to be and what the future holds for the team.

It's a big hour #2 for the Sunday Skate dudes - they talk about the B's defenseman and what the future looks like at that position, with both moves the team can make and younger guys in the AHL. They also get into the Bruins philosophy on bringing guys up and sending them back down and how players deal with that. Finally, the boys are joined by Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to discuss EVERYTHING.

The Sunday Skate crew gets the show going discussing the Bruins big, impressive victory over the NY Rangers yesterday. What can you take from that game? According to LB - Lyndon Byers - who called the guys from the road, not a lot. LB drops a dime on what was going on with the Rangers yesterday. DJ and Joe discuss Claude's lines and groupings and the importance of Ryan Spooner. They also get into Lucic, his contributions this year and if he can turn things around.

With the Wells report seemingly wrapping up (we hope), Tim and Lou got to talking about possible fines and punishments the Patriots must face. It's possible that the Patriots will face a small fine, but should they take that laying down? The conversation brings out a little passion from BOTH sides.